OK, I just got an invitation to go to lunch at a local diner, and I will probably go. I am waiting for a phone call before I can commit.

Anyway, I am a huge believer in taking responsibility for your own actions. Nobody but me could have helped me not have a heart attack. It was my fault. I ate badly for 45 years prior to having it. ( That said, my doctor said I was likely to have one regardless of my diet )...... Anyway, I take 100% responsibility for it.

But here is the thing: not everybody has good self control. I certainly didn't, and really, still don't. I am still fighting on some days to stay on plan. I also understand that if restaurants were to sell properly sized portions, they couldn't stay in business because they would not make enough profit to pay the rent and such.

Still, even before coming here, I tried to avoid that diner, even though they make pretty good grub most of the time. Why? Well, because the portions are out of control IMMENSE! Based on CW, a "portion" of pasta is 2 ounces before cooking. Now I don't about you folks, but a 2 ounce portion of pasta is not what I think of as a portion. I think of it as about 5 or 6 ounces of pasta, prior to cooking. Now, that sized portion is probably bigger than what most people think of as a single portion.....

So, at this particular diner, their "portion" size for pasta is 12 ounces of pasta before cooking. That is one helluva large amount of pasta! I can't even eat it, and I tried. Plus they would have 12 ounces of meatballs on the plate. And then of course, the sauce for the pasta. But wait, there is more! You also got rolls with butter, and a salad with dressing.
Before I do my calculations, let me once again say, that I don't blame the restaurant.

OK, here goes......

The pasta = about 1200 calories
The sauce = about 300 calories.... estimating 1.5 cups of marinara sauce
The meatballs = about 1200 calories
The bread = about 400 calories ( their bread portion is 2 rolls )..... Plus they put bread on the table before the meal comes.
The salad = about 75 calories
The salad dressing comes in a cup on the side, but a creamy dressing would be about 300 calories for 4 TBS
The butter = 240 calories ( 2 pats of butter in the foil )

And then of course, if you order a soda, well, they have 24 ounce cups, with refills. If 1/2 the glass is ice, but you get a refill and drink it all, you are at about 300 calories of pure refined sugar.

Now, I have seen people eat this whole meal. My brother in law eats this meal when he goes. All of it.

So let's add it all up..... give or take, this one "meal" is about 4000 calories. And the price of this meal? $10.95 when listed as a special, and $12.95 normal price.

OK, so that is a HUGE amount of wasted calories, and calories in general.

So, I understand the restaurant's viewpoint..... Nobody would pay $10.95, or $12.95 to get the amount that they probably should be eating..... let's call it a 1000 calorie portion ( still rather high, but OK ) In the ""old" days, I would have tried to eat as much of that as I could. I don't like taking home "doggy bags". So that is MY FAULT, but we all know, that if you put food in front of people, most people will eat more than they should.

So, when my buddy calls back, I plan on asking him if we can go to another place.

Start Date 9.24.12Starting weight 285ish ( scale is acting funny so I don't trust it, but 285 is close )CW - 271 pounds
First Goal - 255 by 2013
Main Goal - To be healthy for my family... I have an awesome family.
Other Goal - to get off some medications
Final goal - to get to about 180 pounds by 2014
NEW GOAL - When I can start a new journal called "Your dad is not so fat!"

Website looks good, Chuck! I look forward to reviewing and trying some of your recipes. Tried to see them now, but my computer dislikes your site or something b/c it's taking a LONG time to load. I'll give it some time, and come back later.

Website looks good, Chuck! I look forward to reviewing and trying some of your recipes. Tried to see them now, but my computer dislikes your site or something b/c it's taking a LONG time to load. I'll give it some time, and come back later.

Recipes and cooking videos aren't on there yet.

I think I will pay for a pro upgrade, as this is the only site where I have been able to actually make a viable website. When I do that I will be able to add audio and video clips, as well as have more pages.

Thanks for looking Jenn.

Start Date 9.24.12Starting weight 285ish ( scale is acting funny so I don't trust it, but 285 is close )CW - 271 pounds
First Goal - 255 by 2013
Main Goal - To be healthy for my family... I have an awesome family.
Other Goal - to get off some medications
Final goal - to get to about 180 pounds by 2014
NEW GOAL - When I can start a new journal called "Your dad is not so fat!"

OK, I just got an invitation to go to lunch at a local diner, and I will probably go. I am waiting for a phone call before I can commit.

Anyway, I am a huge believer in taking responsibility for your own actions. Nobody but me could have helped me not have a heart attack. It was my fault. I ate badly for 45 years prior to having it. ( That said, my doctor said I was likely to have one regardless of my diet )...... Anyway, I take 100% responsibility for it.

But here is the thing: not everybody has good self control. I certainly didn't, and really, still don't. I am still fighting on some days to stay on plan. I also understand that if restaurants were to sell properly sized portions, they couldn't stay in business because they would not make enough profit to pay the rent and such.

Still, even before coming here, I tried to avoid that diner, even though they make pretty good grub most of the time. Why? Well, because the portions are out of control IMMENSE! Based on CW, a "portion" of pasta is 2 ounces before cooking. Now I don't about you folks, but a 2 ounce portion of pasta is not what I think of as a portion. I think of it as about 5 or 6 ounces of pasta, prior to cooking. Now, that sized portion is probably bigger than what most people think of as a single portion.....

So, at this particular diner, their "portion" size for pasta is 12 ounces of pasta before cooking. That is one helluva large amount of pasta! I can't even eat it, and I tried. Plus they would have 12 ounces of meatballs on the plate. And then of course, the sauce for the pasta. But wait, there is more! You also got rolls with butter, and a salad with dressing.
Before I do my calculations, let me once again say, that I don't blame the restaurant.

OK, here goes......

The pasta = about 1200 calories
The sauce = about 300 calories.... estimating 1.5 cups of marinara sauce
The meatballs = about 1200 calories
The bread = about 400 calories ( their bread portion is 2 rolls )..... Plus they put bread on the table before the meal comes.
The salad = about 75 calories
The salad dressing comes in a cup on the side, but a creamy dressing would be about 300 calories for 4 TBS
The butter = 240 calories ( 2 pats of butter in the foil )

And then of course, if you order a soda, well, they have 24 ounce cups, with refills. If 1/2 the glass is ice, but you get a refill and drink it all, you are at about 300 calories of pure refined sugar.

Now, I have seen people eat this whole meal. My brother in law eats this meal when he goes. All of it.

So let's add it all up..... give or take, this one "meal" is about 4000 calories. And the price of this meal? $10.95 when listed as a special, and $12.95 normal price.

OK, so that is a HUGE amount of wasted calories, and calories in general.

So, I understand the restaurant's viewpoint..... Nobody would pay $10.95, or $12.95 to get the amount that they probably should be eating..... let's call it a 1000 calorie portion ( still rather high, but OK ) In the ""old" days, I would have tried to eat as much of that as I could. I don't like taking home "doggy bags". So that is MY FAULT, but we all know, that if you put food in front of people, most people will eat more than they should.

So, when my buddy calls back, I plan on asking him if we can go to another place.

I have worked very hard to get my way of eating to fit most places. If I were you I would try to make this work..

My suggestion:
Eat some of the meatballs and sauce. Ask if you can have streamed veggies in place of pasta.
Skip the bread and butter
Eat the salad, go light on the dressing.
Drink water or tea.

If the bread tempts you, ask for it not to be brought to the table. Learn to like taking home leftovers--makes the next day's menu easier.

I have worked very hard to get my way of eating to fit most places. If I were you I would try to make this work..

My suggestion:
Eat some of the meatballs and sauce. Ask if you can have streamed veggies in place of pasta.
Skip the bread and butter
Eat the salad, go light on the dressing.
Drink water or tea.

If the bread tempts you, ask for it not to be brought to the table. Learn to like taking home leftovers--makes the next day's menu easier.

Thanks, but really this wasn't about "me". I was just really making a point about how ridiculous portion sizes are these days. Still, I think most people, myself included, will overeat with that much food presented to them.. Oh, and I went and had a garden salad with 6 fried oysters on top. So, there was a wee bit of breading, but not much....

Last edited by Primal Papa; 11-08-2012 at 05:47 PM.

Start Date 9.24.12Starting weight 285ish ( scale is acting funny so I don't trust it, but 285 is close )CW - 271 pounds
First Goal - 255 by 2013
Main Goal - To be healthy for my family... I have an awesome family.
Other Goal - to get off some medications
Final goal - to get to about 180 pounds by 2014
NEW GOAL - When I can start a new journal called "Your dad is not so fat!"

When I go out to eat, I ask for a take-out box to arrive at the same time as my meal. I put the "extra" food in the take-out box as soon as it arrives, before I start eating, and put the box aside. That helps me to control the portion sizes I eat. And if there's something completely non-primal that I don't want to be tempted by, I'll put that in the box, too. When I get home, I usually have more willpower and throw away the non-primal stuff without being tempted to eat it.

I see your point, PP, and totally agree--the restaurants serve portions that are far too large, but most people wouldn't feel like they're getting their money's worth if it was actually a reasonable portion size. The restaurants can do that because they get cheap crap quality food in bulk amounts. If you go to a very fancy restaurant that advertises high quality food, you'll usually find that the portion sizes are smaller.

I've had many people recommend restaurants to me, and when I went there, I found that the food was mediocre at best; the reason they were recommended was because the portion sizes were huge. Hubby and I seldom eat out, and when we do, we go for the fancy restaurants with better quality food. We end up having lower "eating out" costs even though the fancy restaurants are pricey because we just don't eat out very often.

When we go out, we go to steakhouses. We get a big cut of steak, a baked potato and a salad most times. We take any leftovers home to our dogs, to include the rolls. Yeah, my dogs aren't gluten free. lol

Hey my friend. I just found your blog. Really well done for your weight loss and more importantly your life style change. I am currently reading through but wanted to stop in quickly. When did you have your heart attack (I am sure I wil get this answer when I read back). How is your family doing with the lifestyle change.

How is your daughter doing with volley ball?

Richard

It isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out....Its the grain of sand in your shoe.